Associated Press
MOORE HAVEN, Fla. — Eight people died and 10 others were injured when a van from a church ran through a stop sign, crossed all lanes of U.S. 27 and landed in a canal in rural southwest Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash happened around 12:30 a.m. Monday in Glades County at an intersection. Glades County is east of Lake Okeechobee.
Lt. Gregory S. Bueno said the van was heading back to Fort Pierce, which is north of West Palm Beach on Florida’s Atlantic coast, after a weekend convention in Fort Myers. There were 18 people on the van. The driver and seven passengers are confirmed dead.
Bueno said it was not foggy in the area when the crash occurred.
The 10 other passengers were taken to four hospitals, Bueno said. A 4-year-old child was in stable condition at a Fort Myers hospital. At least two patients were classified as trauma alerts. The injury status of two others weren’t immediately known. The conditions of the other passengers ranged from serious to stable.
One of the five patients taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers was released, said Chris Dion, the hospital’s administrative supervisor. Two patients there were in critical condition and two others were in stable condition Monday morning, he said.